We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.
The first tomatoes were introduced to Europe from Mexico via the conquistadores. They were mainly viewed as ornamental plants. The fruit was the size of cherry tomatoes, and yellow-green when ripe. I guess that was the real "heritage tomato".
Italian food before the tomato. He is wrong about one thing - peppers came to Europe and to the world via Central America too. Same as polenta (maize meal), beans, and so much else.
I was under the mistaken impression that Pansies could handle freezing temperatures because they had some sort of magic antifreeze in them the way some arctic fish do.
Horseradish is basically Wasabi. It's easy to grow in a garden. It is perennial and, once established, you can take a shovel and chop out a hunk of root with no damage to the plant.
I love fresh horseradish, but I love chili peppers too. Depends on what meat you are eating.
It happens to be part of a Seder, but I have often grown it. It is a perennial in New England, grows like a weed, but does not spread.
When you want some fresh root, you just stick a shovel in and chop some side root out. Then grate it. I love it on almost anything. It will not damage the plant.
Easy to find beginner plants online. It is kind-of like growing rhubarb.
In the northern half of the US anyway. Definitely, before any green emerges because the roots are already growing and hungry for weeks before any green shows.
I fertilized our garden beds last week. It will take some rain to sink it in. A good time to put down crabgrass preventer, and fert your nice lawns too.
I spread Preen at the same time in the flower and shrub borders. It works, sort-of.
My Brown Turkey Fig shrub has been highly productive this year, and has grown about 6', but I think none of the fruit will ripen before the first frost.
They usually ripen in August, and it's been a hot summer too. Too late now for these fruits to ripen.
In New England, these plants tend to die back to the roots in winter. However, they revive and grow like weeds.
I guess it's more of a cauliflower than a broccoli, but whatever. Probably more interesting to look at than to eat - unless dressed with lots of garlic and oil.
My view is that even dog kibbles are good with enough oil and garlic.
I have posted often about grass lawns in the past.
Meadows are far better than lawns, but pretty lawns are a suburban real estate necessity. They are completely artificial. They rely on irrigation, fertilizer, weed and bug chemicals. etc. Like hydroponic gardening.
I happen to feel that lawns are perfect parts of English-style gardens. Lawn is one part of an appealing garden.
How can one minimize the artifice and fragility of the unnatural thing which is a mowed lawn (especially in the northern half of the US)?
- Irrigation. It fools the grasses into thinking it's Spring.
- Topdressing. It's what woodland grasses get naturally from fallen leaves and detritus.
- Aeration. It's what grasses get naturally from worms, moles, and digging animals.
Our friend thinks not. I happen to love the flavor. As with cranberries, use 1/2 the sugar a recipe asks for to get the full flavor. Boil it with a little water and sugar and dump it on vanilla ice cream. I'd go for a rhubarb gelato too, if anybody made it.
I drove my Smart Car (in photo) over to check the patch and observed that it is happy but has bolted. I chopped off those cool flowers and Mrs. BD put them in a vase.
Up in Yankeeland you have to start more things indoors because of the short growing season. Just those 2 weeks of germination make food-gardening (aka hobby-gardening) more difficult.
I only bother indoor starting with things I can't buy already grown at Home Depot. This year: Mouse Melons, Ground Cherries, Cucozzi, Heritage Cukes. Other seeds, like pumpkin, beans, root things, I just put in the dirt in May and hope for the best.
"The best" never happens.
Yeah, we love those Mouse Melons in salads. Spicy and crunchy, and they grow like weeds on a fence or trellis.
March is the time to use that general-purpose fertilizer on your flowering shrubs, fruit trees, etc. if you have snow-free ground.
As we remind ourselves most years, the roots get working long before buds appear. Gotta let any March snow or rain to work the fertilizer deep to the roots. It works. Surface fertilizer for those things takes quite a while, maybe weeks, to soak down to where it's needed.
One of my daughters likes to give me cool seeds for Christmas. Connecticut Field Pumpkins, Heritage Cukes, etc. Of course, the hassle is starting them indoors without a greenhouse. (I need one. My friend's wife had a nice one with heat, light, etc and she kept tropical lizards in it too, to eat bugs and spiders. Problem was, the small ones tended to escape outside in the summer when the vents opened so they had a good adventure of freedom until the first frost.)
We told you about Mouse Melons (aka Mexican Gherkins) in a past post. They are great, grow like weeds, perfect in salads or just to munch in the garden.
It seems the fun trial for this year will be Ground Cherries. We'll see. I guess they are in the nighshade family.
It is sort-of like Butterfly Bush, but in the northeast it lives mostly as a large perennial which often needs to re-emerge from the roots after a chilly winter, growing to 3'. Further south, it can become a large shrub/small tree.
It seems to be a very popular border plant on Cape Cod. It is a Mediterranean plant. I like it, and so do bees and butterflies.
Depending on how far north you live,
August/September is tomato season in the northeast and central US. 
They are a custardy tropical and subtropical dessert fruit. Flavor is "the Paw Paw has been described as a soft blend of banana, melon, vanilla, and pineapple". 
I was under the mistaken impression that Pansies could handle freezing temperatures because they had some sort of magic antifreeze in them the way some arctic fish do. 
It has grown from the ground this year to 6' now, and is covered with hundreds of growing fruit. 
I like to grow them in high pots so they can spill over. They want to be vines, not upright plants.
It happens to be part of a Seder, but I have often grown it. It is a perennial in New England, grows like a weed, but does not spread. 
My
A reader is growing this interesting broccoli in the garden this year: 
wns are a suburban real estate necessity. They are completely artificial. They rely on irrigation, fertilizer, weed and bug chemicals. etc. Like hydroponic gardening.
Up in Yankeeland you have to start more things indoors because of the short growing season. Just those 2 weeks of germination make food-gardening (aka hobby-gardening) more difficult. 
It is sort-of like Butterfly Bush, but in the northeast it lives mostly as a large perennial which often needs to re-emerge from the roots after a chilly winter, growing to 3'. Further south, it can become a large shrub/small tree.